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The Patriot (2000 film)

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The Patriot
A promotional film poster for The Patriot.
Directed byRoland Emmerich
Written byRobert Rodat
StarringMel Gibson
Heath Ledger
Joely Richardson
Jason Isaacs
Chris Cooper
Tom Wilkinson
CinematographyCaleb Deschanel
Edited byDavid Brenner
Music byJohn Williams
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
June 28, 2000
Running time
158 min .
LanguageEnglish
Budget$110,000,000 USD (estimated)

The Patriot is a 2000 film starring Mel Gibson and directed by Roland Emmerich. Produced by the Mutual Film Company and Centropolis Entertainment, it was written by Robert Rodat and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film mainly takes place in South Carolina and depicts the fictional account of a war hero swept into the American Revolutionary War when his family is threatened.

Plot summary

It is the late 18th century, in South Carolina. Captain Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) is a veteran of the French and Indian Wars and a widower raising seven children on his farm. Gabriel, the eldest, played by Heath Ledger, is anxious to join the American forces fighting the British in the Revolutionary War. Martin, who knows from first-hand experience the horrifying carnage that war presents, is adamant about discouraging his son from enlisting.

Against his father's wishes and without his father's permission, Gabriel does join up, later Gabriel returns home wounded as he is carrying dispatches between commanders. Martin's second son Thomas (Gregory Smith), is killed trying to free Gabriel as he is taken prisoner, shot by the sadistic Colonel William Tavington (Jason Isaacs) who has his men kill the wounded rebels and orders Martin's farm and livestock destroyed. Martin is enraged and frees his son Gabriel, in brutal fashion; the sons stand amazed and stunned by their father's rage, ability, and success against 20 British soldiers. Gabriel re-joins the cause against his father's will again, stating that it is his duty as a soldier as he assembles a militia. Benjamin Martin decides to join the fight later, he catches up with his son, and they report together. During this time, Gabriel then marries Anne Howard (Lisa Brenner), a wartime marriage during a furlough. However, after the marriage, returning home, Anne, her father and her mother, along with all the townspeople are burned alive whilst locked in the church, at the orders of Tavington.

After a furious Gabriel discovers what has happened, he and a small group of men ride after Tavington and his Dragoons. During the skirmish, Gabriel is killed by Tavington. Benjamin Martin decides to end his military involvement after losing his second son. After burying his son, he notices, in Gabriel's saddle bag, an American flag that Gabriel had repaired. His thoughts then move towards fighting for what his son saw in the cause for freedom.

In the final battle, Col. Harry Burwell (Chris Cooper) and Jean Villeneuve (Tchéky Karyo) help Benjamin defeat the British. Martin meets Tavington on the battle field, finally killing him in hand-to-hand combat.

Meanwhile, a disappointed General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) sounds the retreat as the rebels celebrate. Martin narrates the final moments of the film, speaking of the sacrifices of the Continental Army, the arrival of the French forces to aid in the revolution and the freedom gained from the war.

Observing the British surrender at Yorktown, Villeneuve murmurs "Vive la liberté!" ("Long Live Freedom") a reference to how American independence helped to trigger the French Revolution a few years later. Lafayette, the real French commander in the American War, was a major figure in the early stages of the French Revolution.

Soundtrack

Trivia

  • When originally written, Benjamin Martin had 6 children, but in the movie Martin has 7 children. This was changed based on the number of children Mel Gibson has.
  • The producers and director chose Heath Ledger to play the role of Gabriel Martin because, in their opinion, Ledger was a man who possessed "exuberant youth."
  • When teaching Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger how to shoot a muzzle-loading rifle, technical advisor Mark Baker gave them the advice to "aim small, miss small", meaning that if you aim at a man and miss, you miss the man, while if you aim at a button (for instance) and miss, you still hit the man. Gibson liked this bit of advice so much he incorporated it into the movie, just prior to the ambush scene.
  • One of the "redcoats" that is floating face down in the river after the trap is a dummy of John Travolta.
  • Harrison Ford declined the lead role, feeling the script had boiled the Revolutionary War down to a "one-man's-revenge" melodrama.
  • Heath Ledger performed his own stunts.
  • Screenwriter Robert Rodat wrote 17 drafts of the script before there was an acceptable one.
  • In an earlier version of the script, Anne is pregnant with Gabriel's child when she dies in the burning church.
  • Laurence Olivier Theatre Award winning British actor Ben Daniels received a role alongside Mel Gibson in this film, but refused the offer, citing that the "money was good, but it wasn’t for me."[1]
  • Around the same time as Sony's infamous fictitious writer scandal, it was revealed that a Sony marketing executive had hired her assistant and another employee, both African-American, to pose as a couple for an "outside the theatre" testimonial. Fearing that black audiences would be turned off by an action film set during slavery, the employees referred to the film as a "great date movie".[citation needed]
  • The battle that Benjamin and Gabriel are witnessing in an unfolding disaster is the Battle of Camden.
  • Col. William Tavington was based on Col. Banastre Tarleton, who was a cavalry commander under general Cornwallis. Historians often portray him in the same way as Tavington was portrayed in the movie. Unlike Tavington, he survived the war.
  • Benjamin Martin was a composite of Thomas Sumter and Francis Marion. Originally he was to be based on one of the two but the producers felt that the sordid actions of the pre-war two may have clouded their heroic stance in the war.
  • The final battle where Tavington and Martin fight is based on a composite of the battles of Guilford Court House and Cowpens.

Historical Inaccuracies and Mistakes

Colonel Harry Burwell, trying to persuade South Carolina to give money to assist for the war effort, claims to have fought at Bunker Hill. He says that the rebels killed "700 redcoats at point blank range," although the correct figure is closer to 300.

At the end of the movie, some of the French battleships shelling Cornwallis' army are carrying the modern blue, white, and red French flag, which did not appear until after the French Revolution some 10 years later.

When the French ships are bombarding Cornwallis' army, the hulls of the French ships are painted black with yellow stripes along the gun-ports. This scheme was used only by the Royal Navy and only became popular during the Napoleonic Wars.

Great Danes were not known by that name until the end of the 19th century. At this time they were called Boar Hounds.

Captain Wilkins says he knows Martin so well he knows his boot size. Boots were not manufactured in sizes until after the American Civil War.

When Charlotte and the children are hiding from the redcoats in a root cellar, they pass a basket full of bread wrapped in cellophane, which was not invented until 1906.

At one point two characters sit looking out to sea watching a sunset, which is unlikely on the east coast of the United States.

Awards

References

  1. ^ Ben Daniels. RainbowNetwork.com

Resources

  1. "The Patriot: The Official Companion" by Suzanne Fritz Rachel Aberly
  2. "The Patriot: A Novel" by Stephen Molstad
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